


Paradis High

by ColossalBoi



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Coming Out, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, art teacher bertolt, big bisexual reiner, everyone's basically gay, school is hard even for teachers, sports teacher reiner, teenagers? more like meanagers, top reiner/bottom bertolt, ymir and historia couple goals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-01-30 06:49:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21423961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColossalBoi/pseuds/ColossalBoi
Summary: A Reibert-focus AU story of the AOT universe. Reiner and Bertolt are not the only teachers employed at Paradis High, but it often feels like it- as they are truly the only people they can talk to, in and out of class hours. They both teach completely different subjects- Reiner an outspoken and well liked and fantasied about sports teacher, with Bertolt being a recluse art teacher carrying rumour upon rumour on his reputation.How will these two staff members interact over the course of the school year, and what will arise from the student population seeing them together almost 24/7? Only time will tell.
Relationships: Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Levi/Erwin Smith, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein, Reiner Braun/Bertolt Hoover
Comments: 6
Kudos: 53





	1. Finding new faces

Paradis High- the century old high school that evolves with every year that passes. It was known as the jewel of the island it sat upon, until a good majority of the new generations packed up their bags and set inland, finding other places to live their lives and explore themselves freely. Even with this event occurring thirty years ago, the school and population surrounding it still found their way to attract students from all walks of life, and even from the mainland too. Teachers were being sought for from all across the globe, and many answered the call when given the opportunity to teach at such a highly regarded establishment. Yet, even with it’s high reputation, the school had its fair amount of rocky patches- from scandals to the general behaviour of your average teenager, the heads of the school often found themselves looking back on their history and wondering if they’d done the founder and original head teacher, Karl Fritz, a wrongdoing due to the overarching amount of guilt.

However, most teaching staff didn’t consider the school’s reputation destroyed. In fact, a good few found it that this was most likely the most positive era the school had gone through, as many teachers and students alike have opened up with their beliefs, and left their negative stereotypes and preconceptions behind them. This was mainly due to the arrival of the most popular to-date teaching staff members, Historia Reiss and Ymir. Historia and Ymir were established, from day one, as ‘the best teaching couple’. Even with them jokingly throwing around those words, it was definitely held as truth in the hearts of the students. The two women being in different departments of teaching was slightly tricky, due to the fact that their schedules rarely ever matched up for the sake of free time- resulting in the couple often spending every moment they had together, especially minor displays of affection in the large cafeteria.

They had been teaching at the establishment for roughly four years before Bertold Hoover signed up as an art teacher. He was timid, apprehensive to talk to new and unfamiliar faces, and regarded as a ‘sissy’ by some of the more judgemental students. He often found himself either eating in the corner of the cafeteria, quickly finishing his meals and then getting back to work, or simply bringing a lunchbox and sitting in solitude, surrounded by the enormous number of paintings and sculptures that lined the walls of the art department. Bertolt was known for being a loner, rarely speaking to any staff members- until he had made friends in Annie Leonhart, a sports teacher and martial arts coach, and Armin Artlert, the intelligent librarian that occasionally subbed in for any missing english teachers that may have taken time off due to ill health.

Annie was regarded as slightly unapproachable, but well-loving to any student or fellow staff member she saw potential in. She was hesitant to open up to the lanky artist and miniscule librarian, but eventually did after many chats that either occurred in the large staff lounge or at the cafeteria’s many available tables. When Bertolt’s first school year ended, he spent the majority of his summer break practicing his artist skills- painting and sculpting being the primary focus. He found it awfully relaxing working through reference, so Armin helped out quite a bit when inviting his friends to Bertolt’s painting sessions, often hosted in the art department of the open-campus school. Thanks to Armin, he made acquaintances with Eren Yaegar- an outspoken english teacher with a keen interest in poetry, his half-brother Zeke Yaegar, the science teacher with an awful lot of free time to spend in the school library, and Mikasa Ackerman, a language teacher well-known for only spending her time on Eren’s side.

With all these new faces he’d met and learnt, Bertolt found himself walking into the new school year with a smile plastered across his face, and an attitude ready to welcome new opportunities and experiences into his life. One of these new experiences was brought on by Annie and her department, as they had a terrible lack of sports teachers the past year, they had brought on a vast array of new members. Sasha Blouse was one of them, specifying in Health more than sport. Another new member was Porco Galliard, known for his history in endurance and stamina public events. The final prominent member to the team was a man named Reiner Braun, a blonde, confident, well-spoken, incredibly built handsome man, that Bertolt was more than happy to get to know.

When Annie was introducing her tall friend to the rest of her team in the sport-specific staff area, Sasha remarked to him that she felt that he was bound to get along well with everyone he met- which he appreciated, but knew was far from the truth. Making quick acquaintances with Sasha, Porco and especially Reiner, Bertolt left Annie’s warm welcome and headed back across campus to the art department. The art department was located in the creative arts building, a large space that held the drama and music classrooms alongside the art rooms. He was awfully familiar with every teacher and pupil that spent a majority of their time in the building, specifically a few students that he found himself finding throughout the messy crowds which flooded through every hallway.

The two specific students, Gabi and Falco, greeted him with a warm smile every morning- and an especially warm one the second monday morning of the school year.

“Good morning Mr. Hoover!” They’d chime in unison with one another, their pearly white teeth seemingly on display to the artist.

“Ah, good morning-” he spoke, fixing the strap of his bag as he headed towards his classroom, his free hand clutching onto a warm cup of coffee. “How was your weekend?” he asked the two, returning a gentle smile to the young teenagers that had halted him in the hallway.

“It was good!” Gabi almost jumped into the air, looking over at Falco who had the same toothy grin and cheery attitude. “We did lots of work and did some drawings homework for your class, Mr. Hoover!” Falco spoke to him, shuffling through his bag before giving up. “We’ll just show them to you later!” He chuckled, Gabi accompanying him with the sound of laughter. The two then gave Bertolt a quick goodbye, running down the hallways to their first few classes of the day.

As the morning started, Bertolt kept himself busy in the large art classroom as he instructed his two morning lessons- a class on simple paintings for the younger students, and a class for the slightly older students studying an introduction to art styles, from pop art to abstraction. Once his morning classes were done, Bertolt had a free space between his break and lunch- something that was very handy on a monday. During his free space, Bertolt took the time to clean up the messy spaces that students had left behind in his primary classroom. When he had finished that task, and left notes to the form teachers that oversaw the mess-makers he had to deal with in the previous hours. Once he had gathered his items and locked up the room, leaving a message on the door that he could be found in the staff room and then the cafeteria, Bertolt wandered through the semi empty hallways to the elusive staff lounge, located in its own area in the main building on campus.

Walking in, Bertolt greeted the faces of staff he wasn’t acquainted with, but definitely recognised from his previous year of teaching. He walked into the small kitchen-space, starting up the coffee machine and pulling his cup from his bag. He noticed that, in his emptiness in the room, it was suddenly filled by someone walking through the door in his peripherals.

“Oh, hey. Bertolt, right?” the voice spoke, causing the tall art teacher to turn on his heels as the coffee poured into his cup. It was Reiner, the new and extremely attractive sports teacher- which Bertolt found himself looking over momentarily before responding.

“Yeah,” he replied meekly with a smile, checking his coffee cup to make sure it didn’t spill over.

“I can’t believe I’m not the only person topping up coffee at half 10.” Reiner chuckled, walking over to Bertolt’s side and leaning against the countertop of the kitchen array. “So, were your morning classes alright?” The blonde spoke up, quite literally in Bertolt’s height situation, making small talk in an attempt to get closer to a teacher he wasn’t familiar with. After all, with Reiner being a new member of the staff team, he was trying his best to get familiar with individuals from all departments.

“My morning was considerably slow, even though I’m literally running on 4 cups of coffee already.” Bertolt chuckled, a slight redness forming on his cheeks as he smiled. “This’ll make five,” he commented as his free hand pulled the coffee cup from the machine, Bert bringing it to his lips and taking a well-earned sip.

“That’s great to hear, Bert.” Reiner smiled, pulling his own cup from his bag and gesturing to the taller man to shimmy over- which Bert did. “I can call you Bert, right?” he asked, Bert nodding in response. “Okay, great. I don’t really have many nicknames.” Reiner momentarily spoke, pressing the large button on the side of the coffee machine and letting the brown liquid fill his cup to the brim, the smell of it pushing throughout the room.

“To be honest, my morning classes were slightly boring.” Reiner chuckled, sipping his drink and picking up the gym bag he had placed on the counter. Bert, in tandem, picked up his over-shoulder satchel and the pair walked through the door located at the other side of the kitchen, walking into the lounge area where Bert noticed his fellow friends sitting and marking various pieces of work.

“How so?” Bertolt asked, the pair sitting down on a slightly cramped sofa, the two sipping on their drinks momentarily and then placing them on the coffee table.

“Well, we didn’t do much,” Reiner began as he unzipped his tracksuit jacket, revealing the slightly tight white shirt which hugged his seemingly perfect muscles. “Only a few basic drills after kit checks,” he sighed, folding backwards into the seat. “Kit checks are the worst, not only for the students who’ll run around yelling at everyone asking if they could borrow a missing piece, but also for us who have to check every single label and make sure it's actually their stuff.” Bert chuckled at Reiner’s explanation of miniscule annoyances, the red blush returning to his face- even if it was too small to notice.

“The kids in my groups aren’t too fond of what we’re going to be covering,” Bert explained, locking eyes with Reiner to somewhat establish a connection in their conversation. “It’s just a shame when none of the forty students I saw this morning even gave a second look at the worksheets I prepared for them. I thought we were covering some interesting introductions, but apparently not.” he sighed, folding upwards in the chair and picking his coffee cup up to take a long sip.

“I completely get you.” Reiner responded, his nodding also adding to the positive reaction of Bert’s words.

“You do?” Bert chuffed, putting the cup down. “I wouldn’t think a sports teacher would understand how hard it is to get kids to focus. I mean, you kinda just need to yell at them consequences unless they run, right?” Bert chuckled, stifling a laugh. This comment allowed Reiner to burst out in laughter, several glances focusing on the pair from around the staff lounge.

“Bert, that must be the funniest comment I’ve ever heard about my profession. Ever.”


	2. It seems like fate

When Bertolt had finished his day of teaching basic introductory classes, he fully packed up his art room and made the rest of the art department aware of his journey home, most specifically Connie Springer, the head of the art department. He was bubbly and incredibly welcoming, known as the prankster of the staff team, known as ‘Mr. Pop Art’ due to his love for the 1950s-originating art style.

When he left the art department, Bertolt passed by his students in the hallways and smiled to them as they wished him a good night and safe travels home. Bertolt was known to take public transport, specifically the bus services. He took the number 1 from the school campus to the center of the city, and then the 7 from the outskirts of the city back to the suburbs as to where he lived. He lived in the small housing estate of Trost, which was known for its population of transfer students and teachers that all studied and worked at Paradis High. Bertolt had lived in Trost for roughly two years, as he moved onto the island a few months before he was employed at the school- which most of the international teachers tended to do, just to make sure they were accustomed to life on the island. He was unaware of the students and teachers that lived in the neighbouring buildings to him, and Bertolt somewhat enjoyed it that way- mainly because he was cosy where he lived, and would rather not have creepy students stalk him out of his house in the mornings.

When Bertolt hopped onto the slightly packed number 1 bus with ease, his headphones solidly placed over his ears as he focused on his music rather than his surroundings, he sat nearer to the front because he saw some of his more.. annoying.. students sitting in the back of the transport. He’d rather not talk to them, as they would only have nasty things to say about his classes, and also comment on many rumours that may or may not have started due to their free speech. He turned up his music momentarily, before a tap from across the small pathway was landed on his right shoulder. Bertolt took his headphones off momentarily, glancing to his right before clicking that a certain someone was sitting beside him, a wide grin on his face. It was Reiner.

“Hey, Bert.” Reiner smiled, his cheeks red and his tracksuit half peeled off of his torso. Clearly, he’d sprinted from his classes to the bus stop just in time- as he had also managed to sit down right after the art teacher did. “I didn’t expect to catch the same bus as you, let alone sit across from my buddy.” Reiner chuckled, sitting backwards in his seat after adjusting his large rucksack that sat beside him on the inside seat. Bert was sitting on the inside seat of his two available chairs, and so he instinctively shuffled into the middle seat to match Reiner after moving his bag.

“Oh hi, Reiner.” he smiled back, fiddling with his headphones and placing them into his satchel as the bus started to move, passing by the large campus and the small houses that were sparsely built around the century old campus. “How was the rest of your day?” Bertolt asked, making polite conversation, and trying not to seem to awkward as to cause a loud conversation on the bus- yet he was also afraid that Reiner wasn’t going to hear him over the sound of the screaming students. Although, they had become awfully quiet once the two teachers had started interacting.. extremely odd.

“Lessons were good.” Reiner chuffed, kicking one of his legs over the other gently as he spoke. “It was awfully fun to watch the students start swearing up and down that their pieces of equipment totally were real, and were just left at home.” Reiner explained, causing Bert to remember that this was the day that all the sports teachers went over each students sports kits, making sure they had all the correct items for their lessons and clubs.

“That’s good to hear!” The tall brunette nodded, appreciative that at least someone had a good time with the rest of their day. “Most of my kids were just messing about with the paint to the point that I had to bring in Connie to settle them down.” Bert gave a slight chuckle, a toothy smile plastered on Reiner’s face as he attentively listened to his speech- it seemed as if he was only focused on what Bert had to say, nothing more, which really didn’t help as the pair were due to get off at the next stop.

As the automated system chimed to tell them where they were, the two teachers both grabbed their bags and headed off the bus. They continued chatting as they walked through the center of the city, the teachers perplexed as to why they were both heading in the same direction until Reiner finally asked the question.

“So, where are you headed off to, Bert?” He asked, the two walking past several different bus stops which all headed in different directions.

“Just home. I live in Trost, so I'll be taking the number 7.” He smiled, fixing the strap to his bag as he felt it momentarily slip from his grasp.

“Oh, me too.” Reiner responded, a cheeky smile on his face.

“Really? You also live in Trost?”

“Yup. I’ve only been there for a few months, as I moved in at the start of the summer.” Reiner chuckled, zipping up his tracksuit jacket as the wind suddenly got considerably colder. Reiner’s actions saddened Bertolt momentarily, yet he was unaware why- although it was pretty obvious to most, Reiner was built incredibly impressively. After the two sat together at the bus stop, they made polite conversation on what stops they got off at, and also exchanging personal details like phone numbers and email addresses- after all, teachers weren’t just given everyone else's contact information for the sake of it.

Bert’s stop was sooner than Reiner’s, so when he got off the bus, he waved at Reiner through the window and made the small walk back to his apartment building. He lived in a building with five stories and four apartments per story, Bert living in apartment 5A. Unlocking the main entrance to the building, he checked that his bag was secure and headed up the several flights of stairs to his floor. Finally getting up to his floor was an achievement, as all the apartments had two floors to them, equaling to even more stairs to climb up- he wondered why the buildings weren’t designed with elevators. It was a recurring thought in Bert’s mind.

Once bert had walked up to his door, he momentarily checked his small mailbox that was built into the wall beside his front door. He only had a few spam letters from companies that were based on the mainland. He sighed, pushing the papers into a small crumple as he unlocked his door, then tossing the papers into the bin in his entrance. His apartment was quite cramped, as the space he had on both floors was lacking. His bedroom and office were upstairs, and his main living space- including the sitting area and kitchen- and bathroom were downstairs. 

Walking through the small opening hallway, Bert sighed and threw his bag onto the miniscule sofa that was placed against the closest wall. Humming as he wandered through his place, Bert checked his setup momentarily and noticed he’d accidentally left a few plates on the coffee table this morning- ugh, they smell rotten.

Quickly getting rid of them by putting them in the dishwasher, Bert then took his jacket off and placed it on the coat rack beside the front door. His phone pinged in his pocket after he had hung his jacket up, and so as Bert was turning the heating on in his apartment, then sitting down and checking his phone

** Reiner:**   
_Ya get home safe?_

Bert chuckled, reading the message over a few times just to make sure he was actually being asked by Reiner if he got home alright. It was slightly odd to hear something like this, as Bert was incredibly new to the whole idea of ‘hey, your friends actually care about you’. He then typed up a response as quickly as he could, just making sure that the pair would keep up their previous conversation.

**Bertolt:**   
_I got home just fine, thanks for asking! :)_

Bertolt went over sending the smiley face a couple times, finally settling on it being an alright idea, showing his appreciation for Reiner’s concern. Surprisingly, as Bert stood up and put his phone in his pocket, he received another notification of a text message. He decided to ignore it momentarily as he headed up the tiny staircase located in the far side of his apartment, walking into his open bedroom and office space with his satchel. Placing it down at the side of his large desk which pressed up against the wall beside his bed, the wall adorned with various posters and pictures he’d illustrated, Bert turned on his computer and pulled the folders from his bag, placing them back into their correct holding spaces.

He then took his phone from his pocket as his PC chimed, reading through the messages he had missed in the past couple of minutes.

**Reiner:**   
_What time u start tomorrow?_

**Bertolt:**   
_My first class starts at 10, so I’ll need to get the first bus into the city at 8. Why?_

**Reiner:**   
_Askin cuz we could get the same buses in the mornin. I also start at 10_

**Bertolt:**   
_Sounds good to me! Wanna meet at the bus stop by mine at 8, then?_

**Reiner:**   
_Yea, gives me a little bit of exercise from my place to your bus stop lmao_

**Bertolt:**   
_Well I could always go meet at your stop if that’s better for you_

**Reiner:**   
_Nah it’s fine i appreciate a lil mornin jog anyways, if it wasn't obvious_

Bertolt chuckled at Reiner’s unique way of texting, recalling that as an athletic man, he must already be exercising at any opportunity- right? Bert never really had to worry about his weight, mainly due to his height metabolism and already positive eating habits. So, the life of an exercise-fanatic was something that he was incredibly unaware of. How did his life differ to Reiner’s, and was it such a huge difference that he’d imagine? Who knows, he’d have to ask.

Bert then quickly realised he had yet to reply, so he quickly typed something to send to Reiner so it didn’t seem like he was bored by their conversation. He was actually far from the opposite.

**Bertolt:**   
_So see u at 8 at my bus stop? :)_

**Reiner:**   
_See you then, Bert ;)_


	3. A new perspective

Reiner Braun, a brand-new sports teacher added to the faculty of Paradis High in the recent year, had moved into the suburb of Trost. He lived in a small shared housing estate, each single-floor house placed in a large square that bordered a communal garden where each resident could spend their time. He had only moved in a few months prior, and even with his short amount of time living in the space allocated, he had already made it his home- decorated with various sports posters, various items of his personal interests and other such items. He loved where he was living and his current lifestyle- he can’t even get enough of the people around him, either. Well, specific people.

Reiner woke quickly, his alarm sounding like a parrot that had a grudge against his sleep. His fuzzy blonde hair was messy and curved along the lines of his pillows, his eyes still dusted with the remnants of his slumber. Rubbing his face quickly, Reiner slammed his hand onto the alarm button, groaning as he looked at the time. The clock read 6AM.

“Mornin’ to myself,” He murmured, rolling his legs to the side of his bed and running his hand through his hair, standing up and walking over to the kitchen area of his small living space. Pulling a mug from the cupboard he kept them in and placing it beneath the coffee machine, Reiner turned it on whilst he went over to his set of drawers, pulling out some random tracksuit and plain white tee that he owned. Peeling off his pajama pants, which was all he wore whilst he slept, Reiner put on his typical tracksuit and underclothes.

Taking his cup of coffee quickly, Reiner downed it in only a few seconds and then packed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulders. Grabbing his phone and pulling his headphones over his head, Reiner hummed and locked up his house, starting his run to the other side of Trost- to Bertolt’s bus stop, where they planned to meet. He set out on a steady jog, his chest heaving up and down as he gently controlled his breathing. Reiner was flooded with thoughts of his new friend- what was he like, what were his interests, hobbies and passions in life?

As Reiner checked his watch, which read 7:45, he noticed that he was near to the bus stop which Bertolt used. He hummed as the music played in his ears- a soft rock song that debuted around ten years ago. As the song ended, so did Reiner’s journey. He walked up to the bus stop, standing beside the shelter and pulling his phone out- notifying the art teacher that he’d arrived. Although this message wasn’t truly needed, as his eyes darted to his peripherals where Bert was casually running up to the bus stop with a bright smile on his face. He looked awfully adorable, Reiner thought but then quickly erased from his head.

“Morning Reiner!” Bertolt waved, crossing the street and standing beside the gym teacher. “How was your morning?” Bertolt asked. Reiner was smiling throughout the entire conversation, his hand by his side, fiddling with the strings of his tracksuit trousers. “Alright,” Reiner responded casually, “The coffee sure did help me in waking up.” He chuckled, noticing that Bert let out a cute laugh- cute being the specific word that Reiner thought of.  
“So, what’re your lessons like for today?” Reiner asked the taller teacher, the two making polite and pleasant conversation. He didn’t expect such an excitable reply, but that was what he got, presented with a bright smile and change of posture. “They’re gonna be amazing,” Bertolt responded, his pearly whites almost flashing in the morning sun. “I have some awesome kids in my classes today, and we’re doing some super fun stuff. I was finally cleared to let all clay projects be sent off-site to the art warehouse in the center of the city- I’ve been asking for 10 months already!” Bertolt chuckled, noticeably folding a hand into his large jacket pocket and pulling out a water bottle, taking a sip.

“It sounds like you’ve got a great day ahead of you!” Reiner smiled, grateful that at least someone would be having a good day. “All I’ve got to do is teach kids how to use the basic machines in the gym and then promptly watch them flounder.” He chuckled, the thought of watching 13 year olds try to impress their crush by turning the treadmill to 100 and then getting ejected from it making him laugh. It was a cruel fate, but it was bound to happen one day- today was that day.

As the two chatted for the remainder of time before the bus arrived, they talked about their general interests in life. Reiner opened up about his passion for rock music, Bertolt similarly mentioning his interests in movie critique. They also talked about quirks about their personalities, Bertolt mentioning his odd sleeping positions which were mainly captured in his college days. When the bus arrived, the pair sat beside each other due to the cramped nature of the morning commute from students and adults alike. Reiner didn’t mind sitting next to Bertolt, not at all, it was far better than sitting beside some noisy teenagers, plus he was more than glad to sit beside someone he cared about.

The two were making their way to the school, and slowly but surely, they were clearly getting to know each other and open up with one another- through short conversations and social presence, the pair would surely be the best of friends in no time. Maybe even something more.

***

After a long day of work, dealing with kids, picking up paint pots and allocating who lost their sports equipment, Reiner and Bertolt met up in the staff room, exchanging thoughts of their day with one another.

“And then, some kid just casually jumped onto the trampoline- bear in mind the other kid was still on it- casually doing a backflip, then deciding it was a good idea to face me and flip her hair all.. Y’know, fancy-like.” Reiner explained, cautiously fumbling with the cup in his hands. Clearly he wasn’t too fond of what had happened today.

“Woah, that sounds crazy, Reiner.” Bert commented, shocked about the day’s circumstances. “I mean, I heard about the fondness that some of the students had towards you, but I didn’t realise it’d be that prominent.” Bert chuckled to lift the tension in the conversation, awkwardly scratching the back of his head as the situation towards Reiner wasn’t just fondness from students, but an inkling of fondness from the man sitting beside him.

Reiner sighed, perking a small smile at Bert as he appreciated the kind words. “Yeah, I’ve heard that some of the kids uh-” Reiner coughed, slightly lowering his voice, “Think I’m super attractive, or something. It’s kinda awkward, considering the girls in question are like 13.” Reiner went a bit red in the face, thinking about the situation, the overwhelming consensus being ‘This is bad, super bad, nope nope nope no-’.

Bert thought for a few moments, then speaking up. “Well, we’re both twenty five, right Reiner?” He asked, causing Reiner to nod and take a sip from his drink, his hands warmly cupping the mug as the chilly breezes from the open window- which he prayed someone would close soon- were causing the temperature of the room to drop ever so slightly. “I would be so embarrassed and concerned if I were in your situation. Girls like 12 years younger than me lusting over my every move? No thanks.” Bert sighed, completely empathising with the blonde who sat beside him on the sofa.

“I just appreciate that you’re here for me, Bert. Even if my problems aren’t really MY problems, more like issues with girls thinking it’s okay to make moves on their sports teacher.” Reiner chuckled, the whole situation just being out of hand. For one, being completely in the closet about his bisexuality was tricky as he couldn’t casually mention ‘I prefer guys anyways’ in conversation, but on top of that it was his own students that felt it was okay to make Reiner feel this way. Bert was equally as inquisitive to the situation, mainly due to his overwhelming trust he had given to and received by Reiner- it already felt like they had known each other for years.

“I’m just glad that this is a situation that I can find myself helpful in. I mean, I’d feel super awful if all I could do was watch from the sidelines. Plus, you opened up to me about this. I can’t express my gratitude.” Bert smiled gently after the vast array of compliments, a small redness brushing over his cheeks as Reiner returned the smile, placing his hand on Bert’s shoulder. “I appreciate everything you can do for me, Bert. You’re practically my best friend.” Reiner chuckled, squeezing lightly on Bert’s shoulder before returning his hand to the coffee mug.

The pair of teachers, after finishing their drinks, quickly washed up their cups in the kitchen offside the staff area. They headed out of the school together, side by side- almost inseparable- walking towards the bus stop and waiting for it together. A couple of random girls walked up to the pair, complimenting Reiner’s teaching and casually mentioning their appreciation of his muscles (which made the both of them incredibly tense), finishing off with giving Bertolt shady looks and whispering beneath their breath as they walked off to catch another bus.

“I wonder what that whispering was about,” Reiner raised an eyebrow, more concerned over the shady attitude towards the brunette standing beside him. 

“It’s probably my regular round of rumours that get talked about.” Bert sighed, his eyes darting around and watching the girls scurry away, making glances over their shoulders and catching Bert’s gaze in their own. Weird.

“Rumours?” Reiner asked, confused as to what sort of weight which may be on Bertolt’s back. For one, he’d never been told of any rumours, nor had any indications sent towards him that there were any. He was, to put it simply, intrigued.

“Yeah, rumours. I’m not the most liked teacher, having spent my first year at the school sitting alone or spending my time purely in my department.” Bert explained, putting his hands into his pockets awkwardly. His face went red as he began to speak. “Some kids apparently saw me in the center of the city one weekend, then spread around that I was going on dates with random guys. It came to the point where some kids were calling me slurs in the hallways, mainly because everyone thought I was.. Uh, gay.”

Reiner was standing there, listening to his every word. Yet, when the word gay was mentioned, his face also went red. Well, if it was true, perhaps Reiner’s passing thoughts and feelings towards this lanky art teacher could be justified, but he wasn’t willing to cross any boundaries and casually slip in flirtatious remarks into conversation. It was far too early for that, even if Reiner was thinking about making moves- after all, Bertolt was a catch, and he was more than surprised that his new best friend was regarded as the loner teacher without anyone close in his life.

“I’m surprised that people would go to those lengths just to ruin someone’s reputation.” Reiner responded, Bert’s face partially lighting up at the response to his speech. “Besides, even if you were gay, what’s wrong with that? You’re still Bertolt, you’re still an amazing person, and that wouldn’t change anything.” Reiner smiled with his pearly whites on show, causing Bert to stifle a laugh of gratitude.

“Reiner, you’re too kind.”

“Bert, you deserve it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really hope that this chapter was alright! i, admittedly, rewrote it a couple times which resulted in this being published a little later than i had hoped. anyways, putting that aside, i hope that everyone enjoyed the perspective difference and addition of reiner's thoughts and feelings into the piece.
> 
> please let me know what you thought of it if you have any comments to share!! i appreciate every single thing i get to read as feedback ❤️


	4. The setup to disaster

A fairly large group of teachers sat together in the cafeteria, chowing down on random pieces of food they’d accumulated from the options available on the menu. Bertolt and Reiner were sitting beside each other with Bertolt at the end of the table, his legs dangling off the edge and pressing against the wall simply due to how tall he was. Reiner was cosied between his favourite art teacher and one of his friends from the sports department, Porco. Porco wasn’t incredibly sociable, he much preferred to just sit there and eat, then go for a few laps around the fields that separated the buildings of the school. As Bert and Reiner talked between themselves, vaguely mentioning the idea of hanging out with one another outside of class hours- something that both of them were extremely fond of as an idea. 

Annie, who was sitting across from Bertolt in the group, began to speak after clearing her throat and gaining everyone's attention. “It’s my birthday this weekend,” Annie began, putting her fork down politely and looking around all the members of the group. Armin, who sat beside Annie was clearly interested, a giant smile plastered on his face the moment she mentioned a birthday. Zeke, who sat beside the librarian, seemed a little less interested but still vaguely intrigued by Annie’s first words. “I was wondering if you all would want to join me for a celebratory dinner and perhaps karaoke, paired with drinks? Saturday night after the week of work?” Annie suggested, a couple faces brightening after the word drinks was mentioned.

For once, Porco spoke up with an opinion, “If there’s drinks I’m going to show.” This caused Armin to laugh softly, nodding in response to his speech. “I’m definitely going, Annie.” he turned to the side whilst speaking, placing a hand on Annie's shoulder causing a rare smile from the sports teacher. “What about you two?” Annie asked, her attention focusing on Reiner and Bertolt who had stopped their conversation to listen to Annie. Bert was slightly shocked as Annie would address the two, rather than the both of them separately. He guessed they had spent so much time together that Annie saw them as one unit, which was the case, although Bert neither Reiner would know that. 

“I’d be more than happy to go. What about you, Bert?” Reiner asked, looking to his side and momentarily focusing on the tall brunette he sat beside. Bert nodded, looking towards Annie and clearing his throat, “Yeah sure, but I’m not much of a drinker nor a singer.” He softly chuckled, causing Reiner to stifle a laugh and Annie to nod, knowing that Bert would end up drinking and singing like the rest of them. The other individuals who sat around the table all agreed, even with the apprehension of Zeke due to other arrangements, he still said yes with the promise of changing his schedule- Armin was more than happy to hear that one of his closest friends would be going. Ymir and Historia, whom were sitting at the end of the table, also chipped in on the conversation asking if they could join- with Ymir being a sports teacher employed at Paradis for many years, she had known Annie for a while, so Annie was more than happy to invite the couple along. Historia was quite an odd teacher, being one of the only sociable staff in her department, history. Slightly coincidental that a girl passionate about the subject of history was named after it.. But she saw it as a unique part of herself.

Annie was more than happy to hear the amount of people who agreed to spend their Saturday night together, so she expressed her gratitude. “I can’t thank you guys enough,” she said, hushing her voice slightly- she wasn’t too fond of being nice, especially around students that were no stranger to spreading rumors on people's true identities. “Shall we say meet outside of Fritz Tower at 5?” She asked, the group nodding. Fritz Tower was an identifiable meeting spot in the center of the city, so Annie knew that nobody would have an issue getting there. Even though most of the teachers at the table all lived in separate districts outside of the city, most of the bus routes ended somewhere near the tower. After all, it was owned by the president of the island and he spent a majority of his time there.

As everyone finished their meals, a couple of the staff who were yet to exchange contact details did so. Annie formed a small group chat where everyone could update their travel information on the Saturday, just in case anyone was running late. As everyone was leaving to get to their classes and arrange their things, Reiner stopped Annie and told her that himself and Bertolt would be taking the same route into the city and would most likely show up together. 

“That sounds fine to me. Just update me with anything that happens.”

“Alright. Saturday’s gonna be so much fun.” Reiner smiled, causing Bert to chuckle softly at Reiner’s enthusiastic comments as they walked beside one another. As the trio left the cafeteria and walked towards the main building complex, Reiner gave Bert a quick high-five and a gentle smile as he walked off with Annie across campus to the sports department. Reiner hummed as he walked with Annie, the karate instructor momentarily striking conversation.

“So, you and Hoover, huh?” Annie asked, looking to her side and raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t understand what you mean by ‘me and Hoover’, Annie.” Reiner responded, pushing his hands into his sweatpants, slightly annoyed at Annie’s confusing comments.

“It’s obvious that you two have become.. Attached to one another. Why? I mean, he’s a good friend and all, but..?” She trailed off, wafting her hand at the vagueness of her statements.

“Once again, Annie, I’m unsure what you mean by that. We’re friends, nothing more.” Reiner sighed, fiddling with the pockets of his pants, looking away slightly from Annie and thinking deeply on the subject. Were he and Bertolt just friends, or were they more? No, they weren’t. But did he want them to be? Perhaps. He was often perplexed by these random thoughts. He knew he was bisexual, yes he was out to himself and his closest friends, but he hadn’t told Bertolt that nor had he told Annie. Could she tell?

“I’m simply asking because of how you two stare. Plus, you never seem to leave each others sides. It’s only a coincidence that you two live in the same district.” She chuckled, Reiner going slightly red at the observations Annie had made. He looked away, avoiding eye contact with her for the rest of the short walk they had.

“Yeah it’s a coincidence but I’m glad about it. Means we can spend more time together--” Reiner stopped the rest of his speech, noticing that what she had said was awfully true. Spending all their time together? Yeah, it was something that he really wanted to do. He wondered if Bertolt felt the same way, but he could only guess.

“Bingo!” Annie laughed, pointing finger guns at Reiner. “I knew you liked him!”

“Annie, shut up.” Reiner went red across in the face, punching her in the arm causing her to false a gasp at the playful act of violence.

“I’m telling him right now-” She spoke quickly, pulling out her phone and opening up her snapchat, taking a picture of her and Reiner and beginning to type up a caption to the photo. Reiner, snatching Annie’s phone from her hand and bolting towards the gym, deleted the picture and ran into the offices the minute he got inside, sliding Annies phone on her desk and then grabbing his rucksack, heading down into the machine room to setup his lesson. Annie, was busy with her own stuff, so she simply sent Reiner a text once she found her phone.

**Annie:**  
_keep an eye out, reiner_  
_i’ll spill to bert whenever i feel it’s necessary 😉_

When Reiner saw the message, he sighed, leaving it on read and putting his phone back into his rucksack, waiting for all the kids to file into the room. Humming as he walked over to the large maneuverable dry erase board and writing up the instructions for the afternoon lesson, detailing out that everyone would be getting into groups and doing their own exercises, simply so Reiner could have some time to himself as he peacefully supervised.

As the kids walked in, Reiner smiled at each one, taking the attendance quickly and then gesturing to what he wrote, each student agreeing to partner up and leave Reiner alone with his thoughts as he walked around, supervising and aiding in the lesson whenever and wherever he saw fit. Sitting himself down in the open space of the room, Reiner wrote down multiple different observations in his notebook. Student A might be a good fit for the track team, must talk to Porco. Student C seems like she could go far under Annie’s influence, suggesting another sports club might be a good option for her. Student B is seemingly ineffective in gaining stamina- time to give some tips.

As Reiner spent the two hour class absent-mindedly jotting down notes and running over to students stuck underneath weighted objects, he quickly finished up the lesson and sent all the kids on their way. Once the lesson had concluded, the blonde teacher shot his favourite brunette friend a message.

**Reiner:**  
_gonna be a bit late to the bus stop, you dont have to wait for me_

Reiner was slightly dancing around the fact that he’d definitely get flustered around Bertolt due to all of the comments Annie had made. He didn’t know what she had said to him, if anything. What happened if Bert found out that Annie had poked at Reiner’s insecurities and found out about some of his personal secrets- what if, he thought. He tried not to let the ideas plague his mind as he headed upstairs to the office, grabbing the rest of his things and quietly leaving without even saying a word to any of the staff. An incredibly odd move by Reiner’s standards, considering he was so extroverted and outgoing. He always said goodbye- not today though.

As Reiner left the department and started his slow walk towards the bus stop, located at the front of the school- roughly a 5 minute walk across campus- his phone pinged with a customised alert he’d selected for Bert. As he pulled his phone from his pocket, Reiner checked unlocked his phone and scanned the message.

**Bertolt:**  
_I’m more than fine with waiting! Will see you soon._

Reiner sighed, smiling at the message and then shaking his head quickly, then sending a quick message telling Bert he would be there in a couple seconds. Picking up the pace of his speed, Reiner reached the front of the campus in seemingly a matter of seconds, spotting Bert from afar as he jumped from the gates, jogging over to the bus stop whilst waving at his friend.

“Hey, Reiner!” Bert smiled, pulling his bus ticket from his wallet as he knew a bus would show up soon.

“Hey, Bert.” He raised a corner of his lips, a faint smile painted on his lips. He was still unsure what Bert knew, if anything, after all he couldn’t trust Annie- not in this situation, at least.

“Did you have a good lesson?” The tall teacher asked his friend, the two standing at the stop whilst they waited for the bus to arrive. “I did, I got lots of free time to be honest.” Reiner responded, chuckling softly. “Some of the kids did have a couple incidents with some of the equipment, once again. Wasn’t surprised, but it never gets old just hearing a collapse and ‘Omg help, Mr Braun! Omg!’ from the other side of the room.” Reiner ran his hand through his short blonde hair, Bert nodding at his explanation with a gentle laugh. “Your lessons seem a lot more comedic than mine, I’ll admit.” He returned, placing his hands in his pockets as he watched his friend pull his bus ticket from his rucksack. 

“Anyways, are you doing alright? I mean, generally?” Bert asked, coming off slightly.. Odd. Reiner cleared his throat, shifting to fully face Bertolt with his body as students walked past the pair, standing beside them in line (which was more like a mess that used to be a line) for the bus. “Yeah, I guess.” Reiner responded half-heartedly, sighing as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he pursed his lips together. “Just been thinking a lot.” He continued, catching eye contact with his friend.

“About what, if you don't mind me asking?” Bert asked, intrigued.  
“Not much. Oh, but I was wondering if you’d like to spend some time with me on Saturday before we go to Annie’s get-together?” Reiner blurted out. He hadn’t even thought about this, it was quite a shock to Bert, but even more of a shock to Reiner as it seemed as if his heart was controlling his actions and speech rather than his rational brain.

“I mean-” Bert stammered, his face blushed with a pastel pink, if only for a few moments, “Sure! What would you wanna do? I’m more than happy to invite you over to mine.” Bert smiled, pulling some of his hair behind his ear as a physical sign of nervousness. Reiner was taken aback by Bert’s suggestion of him entering his friend’s home, but he was more than happy to hear it once he had processed the thoughts. “I’d be more than happy to do that! Why don’t I come round to yours for 12? We could have lunch together and then get the bus around 4 to get to the city on time?” Reiner suggested as the bus pulled up to the stop, all of the students that stood around them rushing to the bus and filing into it quickly. Luckily it was a double decker bus so there was more than enough space for everyone that was getting on.

Reiner and Bert got onto the transport as they further discussed what they could do on Saturday afternoon before meeting up with the rest of the group. Ideas were suggested like watching a couple movies, playing some games and even Bert teaching Reiner how to paint. They settled on movies and light lunch with them both mutually agreeing that if the night with Annie and the friend group went slightly chaotic in terms of alcohol, Reiner was more than welcome to spend the night at Bertolt’s. After all, it was a Saturday night going into Sunday morning, neither of them had anything to do so they could have a lazy morning if needed. 

As the two chatted with plans, they enjoyed their typical ride home together, sitting on the front of the top deck and mingling quietly to one another, more than aware of the students around them that could say or do anything with any information overheard from the teacher’s conversation. As the two got off the bus at the city stop, the both of them quickly made a stop at one of the many small stores to grab a drink and a couple snacks. Bertolt bought a premade iced coffee with a bag of popcorn for Saturday, while Reiner bought himself a lucozade drink and an energy bar. AS the two finished with their pit-stop of sorts, they got on their second bus and went their separate ways as the pair got off on seperate stops. 

Reiner spent a majority of his night actually realising what was going to happen between him and Bert. They’d be spending a majority of their Saturday together.. What a wonderful, wonderful weekend he’d be having.


	5. Heart-Opening Beginnings

As the Friday night ended and the Saturday morning began, Reiner woke up bright and early as his alarm filled his small living space with annoyingly obnoxious sound. The chime was actually quite bright and cheerful, though to the sleeping ear it sounded like a freight train crashing through a station at one hundred miles an hour. As the sound continued to scream at Reiner to wake from his slumber, the blonde tossed across his bed, hitting the alarm with force. This caused the small device to fall off of his nightstand along with a box of tissues and his phone, all combining into a mess of a sound at the same volume of the alarm itself.

Reiner sat up, throwing his feet over the side of the bed as the sheets parted from his legs, falling to his waist. As he did so, he spotted the array of items at his feet. Taking a couple seconds to process his newfound awakeness, he got down onto the floor to pick each individual item up to put them back on his small table. Checking the time with his phone, the bright white numbers read ‘7:31’, which prompted him to turn the brightness on his phone down by a considerable amount, then placing it in his pocket. After doing so, Reiner stood up and shuffled himself into a pair of slippers, walking over to his kitchen-like space that was made up of a few countertops, a sink, an oven and a fridge, Reiner and turned the coffee machine on and placing a coffee sachet into the top to make himself a morning drink to wake himself up with a kick of caffeine.

After a few minutes of the coffee machine processing the packet and flooding power throughout it’s system, Reiner placed one of his favourite mugs- decorated with a photograph of a sunset printed onto the porcelain cup- beneath the nozzle of the machine. He pressed the button, watching the dark liquid pool into his cup. After it was done, he added a small droplet of milk, taking his cup into his right hand, pulling his phone from his pocket with his free hand. Having taken a few seconds to scroll randomly through social media, Reiner realised that there was nothing in his feed could perk up his coffee-craving brain. This realisation caused him to flick to his texts, opening his conversations with his favourite art teacher, his finger tapping up a message and hitting send. 

**Reiner:**  
_morning bert :) excited for today?_

After sending the message, Reiner put his phone and cup down, walking to the fridge to put the milk back inside the inside door. He opened it with a large swing. Taking a second to shuffle through the options for a morning snack, Reiner pulled a couple energy bars from the top shelf, then leaning to the countertop and placing them on the kitchen counter so he could close the fridge door. Once he was done with the kitchen, he placed his phone back in his pocket, taking the energy bars and cup into his free hands, walking into his sitting room and seating himself on his small couch. As he sat, he put his cup and food on the coffee table in front of himself, sliding backward in between the cushions for a brief moment of seated calmness.

After resting himself there for a few fleeting seconds, Reiner kicked his feet up to the coffee table, luckily missing hitting the cup by only a few centimetres. He noticed that after completing work late into the previous night, he’d left his laptop on the couch cushion beside himself. Opening it and turning it on, Reiner was relieved that it was still alive and able to hang on for some time before dying. As it turned on, the screen’s brightness flickered through his eyes, giving him the slight indication that may need to start clocking when he turned the brightness ridiculously high on his devices.

His laptop background was an image of his favourite place on earth, the city of Paradis at sunset and it’s romantic decor.o His dream was that he could spend some time exploring the suburbs and small alleyways of Paradis with a lifelong partner, a dream he’d had frequently since he read the geography textbooks as a child. When having this recurring dream, which often frequented his daily thoughts, he noticed that the face and general form of the person he walked with was always obscured in some way, which he found slightly confusing to look back upon as in those few moments when he looked upon the image that morning, a more recognisable figure appeared in his thoughts.

Reiner quickly shook the image from his head, slightly worried of his own subconscious playing games with his thoughts. That person could’ve been anyone he knew and cared about, which is what he rationalised in the moment to deflect those few moments of partial anxiety to calm himself down and flick into a music streaming platform, pressing one of his random playlists to start playing, making sure it wasn’t his romantic date night playlist- after all, that would just make his mind wander even further.

He tapped his hands along the keyboard, pulling up a random literature document he’d been working on recently. It was a small romance outing, a practice piece he could use if one day he was to change careers entirely- although that was far from likely. He noted that maybe, just maybe, filling his head with even more romance was not the best idea, but he concluded that this was simply fiction that he could read with no worries. Skimming over his writing, Reiner wondered why his art was oddly familiar- his art was imitating life, but he hadn’t necessarily picked up on that.

The short story was about two boys who became unlikely friends, then ending up sleeping with each other after a night of drinking. He wondered if it was an unbelievable story that could never occur in any type of normal existence. He wondered if it was even worth continuing, would people ever be interested to read something like this? This was a common thought that passed through his mind when re-reading and adding to his work, after all, most popular and mainstream love stories revolved around a shy quiet girl that fell in love with a jock.. but his writing wasn’t far from it, just change up the girl’s gender and it’s the exact same story. Yes, it’s practically the exact same, but one key difference is that Reiner has little to no writing ability, causing some of the paragraphs to be almost unreadable.

Reiner took a few moments to put his laptop down, pulling his cup and phone into his hands. After pressing the phone screen on, he noticed that he’d received a message from Bertolt some time ago. He didn’t want to make the art teacher wait anymore for an answer, so he placed his cup down hastily, reading over the message at the fastest speed he could.

**Bertolt:**  
_Good morning Reiner! I’m more than excited for today, especially the idea of having a nice time with you before Annie’s get together starts. Do you have any preferences for a movie later?_

After re-reading the message a few times, Reiner contemplated how he would answer Bert’s query for a few seconds. Would he answer with what he would actually like, or what he thought Bert would like- or perhaps something they could both enjoy? Dotting his thumbs over the screen’s keyboard, Reiner wondered if he would open up about his love of the romance genre- which stretched clearly not just through movies, but also through music and fiction- to Bertolt. Perhaps he would appreciate his undisclosed passion and accept it with open arms, but the blonde teacher wondered if Bert would shun him for a somewhat ‘normal and bland’ taste in the eyes of a movie critic. So, Reiner took the easy option and would go with asking Bert what he wanted- after all, that was the most polite thing to do. 

**Reiner:**  
_it’s your house, bert. i’m more than happy to watch whatever you wanna watch :)_

After signing his text with a familiar smiley face, he hit send. A few moments later, Reiner thought over what he had sent. Maybe a winky face would have been better? A winky face is a bit too forward for his standards, so keeping it as a smile was probably the best idea. Even so, a winky face wouldn’t be appropriate to send to a friend. As he thought over it all, Reiner’s mind drifted as his eyes stared at the brightness of his phone, his pupils gradually increasing in size as Bertolt’s newest message appeared on Reiner’s phone screen.

**Bertolt:**  
_Okay! I’ll get a few movies put on my netflix list that we could choose from later. Hope that sounds good x_

Scanning the words, the sports teacher noticed a big, bold X at the end of the text. Surprising to Reiner, his reaction was more subtle than he’d ever expect from himself. He simply typed up a response, quicker than his normal ones as he didn’t spend time worrying over each character he pressed his fingers over.

**Reiner:**  
_sounds like it’s gonna be a super chill time. ;)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i took a big break from writing this but i'm happy that i got to come back to it and give it my all. i wrote this chapter when i published 4, but re-reading it for a fifth time, i realised what i could change and make better with a fresh look at it. this chapter is practically nothing like the original chapter 5, which i find quite hilarious to be honest.
> 
> chapter 6 is planned out and it's going to be a wild ride, i'll just say that ;))))


End file.
